Da Vinci’s Aerial Inventions!

By Callum Ferguson!Press F5 to begin, and space to continue!

Note: (The pictures are hyperlinked to their respective pages)

INTRODUCTION

Some of Da Vinci’s most famous inventions include the tank, the helicopter and the

airplane. Unfortunately Da Vinci did not have the materials required to carry out his

plans and so many of them were never made. But the ideas behind those plans have

helped us greatly in this modern day and age as when more and better materials started

to appear many of his plans were carried out. A lot of things were not exactly his

design but they certainly incorporated some of Leonardo’s ideas. For example the

concept of sloped armour is found on tanks even today. Keep reading to explore his

inventions, most of which have built the foundation for many of our inventions today.

ANEMOMETER

Leonardo Da Vinci had a fascination with flight and aviation ever since he was born, perhaps that is why he created the amazing aerial inventions that he did. One of his favourite areas of study was aviation; he seemed to be amazed with the possibility of people flying through the air like birds.

Historians believe that it was this very fascination that inspired him to create the anemometer, which was a tool for measuring wind speed. He hoped that one day the anemometer could give people insight

into the direction of the wind before attempting flight.

FLYING MACHINE

Another invention of his that was to do with aviation was the flying machine. It shows his fascination and enthusiasm for the idea of flight. Unfortunately, although the flying machine could hold itself up while in flight it did not have the power to get off of the ground. Da Vinci’s flying machine was quite big, with a wingspan of 33 feet. The frame would have been made of pine covered in silk to create a light but sturdy membrane. It would be flown by someone lying face down in the centre of the machine on a board. To make the wings flap the pilot would pedal a crank connected to a rod-and-pulley system. The flying machine also contained a hand crank for extra energy output and a head piece for steering.

HELICOPTER

Not only did he make a flying machine but he created an idea for a helicopter. It would have measured over 15 feet in diameter. It would be powered by four men standing on a central platform turning cranks that would rotate the shaft. With enough rotation Leonardo believed that the invention would have lifted off the ground. Unfortunately due to the weight of the helicopter scientists do not believe that the invention would have worked.

PARACHUTE

• Finally, Leonardo invented something that has allowed people to jump off of planes and land on the ground without injury. Introducing… The Parachute!!! Though the invention of the first practical parachute was invented by Sebastien Lenormand in 1783 Leonardo Da Vinci actually designed one a couple of hundred years before this. Like a lot of Da Vinci’s inventions, this was never actually built by anyone, that is until in 200 daredevil Adrian Nichols constructed a parachute based on Da Vinci’s design and tested it. Despite what experts thought, Da Vinci’s design worked as intended. Even Adrian himself noted that it had a smoother ride then the modern parachute.